1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to techniques for automatically sharing data among computers during a presentation or meeting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Business meetings are frequently led by a speaker who shares information in a visual on-line presentation. Typically, the presentation is created on a computer using a software program (e.g., Freelance(trademark) or PowerPoint(trademark)) that enables the author to create presentation pages (analogous to overhead xe2x80x9cslidesxe2x80x9d) that are displayed at the meeting using a projector. The projector is driven by a computer. The presentation pages may include text and images, and such programs typically enable the author to create special text effects to present the information in a compelling and interesting manner. On occasion, the presenter distributes copies of his or her on-line presentation. More often than not, however, meeting attendees or participants are forced to copy manually what information that they can as the on-line presentation proceeds. Thus, instead of focusing on the speaker and the presentation, the attendees often expend significant effort attempting to record information from the on-line slides. This is frustrating to the attendees and is often counter-productive, as many such meetings are for the purpose of education or information sharing.
Thus, unless the presenter distributes or otherwise makes available a copy of an on-line presentation, participants have no simple way of obtaining a useful copy of such information.
The present invention addresses this problem.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a participant in a meeting with a copy of an on-line presentation, as a meeting is taking place, by automatically transmitting presentation data to the participant""s computer.
It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism by which a computer may broadcast presentation data to other computers being used by participants in a meeting.
Another object of the present invention is to broadcast information over a communication link between a first computer and a set of one or more computers that are operating in the same local vicinity as the first computer.
A more specific object of this invention is to establish and maintain a data communications link between a transmitting computer and a set of one or more receiving computers that are operating in the same area so that presentation data may be recorded by the receiving computers in a background task.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a mechanism that enables a meeting presenter to provide meeting participants with copies of a presentation automatically during the meeting.
A more general object of this invention is to improve workplace productivity and to reduce the time and effort required to obtain and transcribe meeting notes.
Still another general object of this invention is to eliminate the need for a standalone projector or screen display during a meeting at which an on-line presentation is being made.
Yet another object of this invention is to use wireless communication links (e.g., IR, RF, ultrasound, etc.) between a presenting computer and a set of one or more receiving computers. Alternatively, the inventive protocol may be implemented with a wired solution.
These and other objects are provided in a method of automatically exchanging a presentation among a set of computers. In particular, a first presenting computer is positioned relative to at least one receiving computer to facilitate a communication link between the computers. Upon display of a presentation page on the first computer, data representing a given portion of the presentation page is repeatedly broadcast over the communication link. At the receiving computer, the data is received and displayed, and stored for later use.
Preferably, the broadcast medium is an infrared communications channel. The data representing the given portion of the presentation page preferably is broadcast in packets, with each packet having a checksum associated therewith. The receiving computer uses the checksum to verify the integrity of the data packet. If data packet integrity is in question, a message is output to the user indicating that the receiving computer should be repositioned relative to the transmitting computer. For example, the message is output via a pop-up window or an audible signal.
In the preferred embodiment, the presentation page data is stored in a given format, for example, using hypertext markup language (HTML). This format is convenient as it enables the user to view the page data using a conventional Web browser.
Thus, according to the present invention, known presentation software programs are modified or augmented to automatically broadcast to other computers in a meeting room, a test, and possibly a more detailed version of one or more display pages, being discussed during a presentation. Receiving computers that are configured with the corresponding receiving software capture this information and display it on the receiving computer and, preferably, save it to disk. Further, any correction and/or notes applicable to the presentation can be dynamically shared and saved by the participants.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects and features of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention as will be described. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment.